An antenna system in an aircraft or other vehicle is typically covered by an aerodynamically shaped radome. The antenna system illuminates the radome surface at oblique angles of incidence over at least part of the antenna scan range. Radomes, however, tend to cause depolarization of electromagnetic waves passing through them at oblique incidence. Thus a cross-polarization level of a signal may increase as the signal passes through a radome at an oblique angle.
Radome wall design can be modified, for example, by adjusting thicknesses of the core and central skin to reduce depolarization. Studies have shown, however, that such improvements have only limited effect and may increase transmission loss, radome weight and costs. Thus, there exists a need for a system and method for reducing radome depolarization without entailing radome modification.